3:10 to Yuma (2007)

Starring: Christian Bale, Russell Crowe, Ben Foster
Director: James Mangold
Country: USA
Genre: Western

3:10 to Awesometown.

This remake of the 1957 classic lives up to its predecessor while also providing a fun homage to the genre in general. While it doesn’t delve into the psychology as much as the original, it’s still fun to watch these two ferocious actors go head to head. James Mangold instills the roots of the gun slinging spaghetti western through beautiful cinematography (albeit not as patient or immersive, as say Sergio Leone,) and Marco Beltrami’s pitch-perfect score. Crowe and Bale have a surprising chemistry that works really well together. Bale plays his all-too-serious character and Crowe plays his cocky wry sense of humor character, and they create a really kind of fun dynamic to watch. For those who are won over by the film, it brings in a sweet reward in the form of one hell of a ending shoot out. Plus there’s a cameo/small role by Luke Wilson that to this day I’m still trying to understand.

1001 Movie Club: Seven (1995)

David Fincher was surely shot into prominence right out the gun with his feature directorial debut as the third installment in the ultra successful Alien franchise. Three years later he sealed his fate in the directors hall of fame by not only sidestepping the sophomore slump, but progressing leaps and bounds to experienced veteran status. Fifteen years later, Seven is still pointed to as one of the go-to gritty neo-noir stories for anyone interested in the crime genre.

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Road to Perdition (2002)

Starring: Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law, Daniel Craig
Director: Sam Mendes
Country: USA
Genre: Drama, Neo-noir

Every shot in this film looks like an Edward Hopper painting.

The legendary cinematographer Conrad L. Hall really outdid himself on Road to Perdition creating such a visually stunning palate of shadows and dark colors in true noir fashion. Sam Mendes took an interesting turn for his second directorial venture, finding inspiration in the stunning graphic novel by the same name. Ever the master of dealing with actors, Mendes pulls one hell of a performance from Tom Hanks, in a much darker role than his usual everyday hero types. Road may be a gangster movie on its surface, but below the dark anterior lies a touching father and son tale. Mendes and Hall artfully play with the distance between Mike and Michael Sullivan throughout the film, allowing them to grow together both visually and emotionally. And let’s not forget about Jude Law in his most disgusting and despicable character he’s ever played. Honey dipped fried chicken anyone?

The Assassination of Richard Nixon (2004)

Starring: Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, Don Cheadle
Director: Niels Mueller
Country: USA
Genre: Drama

The road to madness is sometimes a familiar one.

When you have a film produced by Alexander Payne, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Alfonso Cuarón that stars one of the most dedicated actors in its lead role and a supporting cast of the highest caliber, you know you’re dealing with a quality film. Surely, this harrowing descent into madness is an effective one. It’s a little tricky in its manipulation though, making us sympathize and connect with a character that we know will ultimately commit some sort of heinous crime. We’re never fully certain what it will be, and, well it’s not pretty. But watching Assassination is to watch an incredibly crafted character study and one of Sean Penn’s finest performances. The film is as quiet as the person you wouldn’t expect to blow, but when it does… whoo boy.

Shutter Island (2010)

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley
Director: Martin Scorsese
Country: USA
Genre: Thriller-ish.

At Shutter Island nothing is as it seems.

In his fourth collaboration with DiCaprio, Scorsese has pulled out one of his best performance, and crafted perhaps one of his most interesting films. Sure to infuriate some and delight others, Shutter Island is all about evoking a response out of the audience – participation. It’s a detective story about a detective, but the investigation isn’t the investigation that the detective is investigating. Or is it? It raises a lot of questions, and doesn’t take the audience for granted in finding the answers for themselves. Also, in a departure from his usual visual style, Scorsese has created one of his more luscious looking, albeit foreign feeling, films to date.

The Dark Knight (2008)

Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart
Director: Christopher Nolan
Country: USA
Genre: Action, Drama

Duh.

What can be said about TDK that hasn’t already been said? Not much. It’s obviously the greatest and best superhero film of all time. So, instead, I’ll just pay homage to it: Remember Heath Ledger’s performance as The Joker? That was awesome. Remember the opening bank robbery? That was awesome. Remember the moral choices that Bruce Wayne had to make? Those were awesome. Remember the car chase in the tunnels? That was awesome. Remember when they replaced Katie Holmes with Maggie Gyllenhaal? That was… a choice. Remember Batman’s voice? … Even the best things aren’t without their flaws…

Once (2007)

Starring: Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová
Director: John Carney
Country: Ireland
Genre: Musical

Everything works together in perfect harmony.

It’s hard to classify this as a musical when thinking of the genre as a whole. The term springs to mind images of corsets and top hats, so there’s an inclination to say this film is about music more than it is a musical. However, each song progresses the story and characters further down their path, and without them there would be no movie. Musicians Glen Hansard (The Frames) and Markéta Irglová head up this wonderful tale of, well, musicians who find each other by chance and inspire each others work. What is striking about this film is its candor. It’s almost like seeing the chunk of events that happen that inspire an album to be written. And the music is some of the most beautiful ever put on screen. Everything works together in perfect harmony to create a very special film.